Railway-traffic-controlling device.



F; L. DODGSON.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING DEVICE.

. A'YPLIOATION FILED JULYZI. 1903.

934,895., Patented Sept. 21. 1 909.

WITNESS-E5: INVENT :9:

X Q75. M) I ,nnrrnn srarns ra rnNr caries.

FRAN'K L. nonesoN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

'ro GENERAL RAILWAY sIGNAL COMPANY, creams, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-TRAFFIC-CONTROLLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters mea rammed s ept. 21; race.

Application filed July -21, 1903. Serial No. 166,467.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. DODGSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident .of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railwayfrailic-Controlling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

i This invention relates to electric apparat-us for railway trafiic-controlling devices.

Its object is to provide. an efficient, safe and flexible mechanism.

The drawing is a diagrammatic view of the invention as applied to a railway switch mechanism.

Tn the tower or operating station is the usual interlocking board, having the operating lever 1 provided with an ordinary tappet slot 2, which cooperates with a roller attached to the tappet 3 in the interlocking hoard. Another slot 4 in the lever has two inclined portions-5 and 6, connected by a horizontal portion 7 having stop faces at its :nds. In this slot is a roller 8, connected by the rod 9 to the armature of the indicating magnet 10. Fastened to the frame \VlllCll carries the lever 1, and suitably msulated therefrom, are three sets of pairs of contact springs as'follows: 11 and 12, 13 and 14c, 15 and 16. A frame or rod 17 moveswith the lever 1 and bears three bridges, 20, 21, and 22, cooperating with said pairs of contact springs. The bridge 22 is carried loosely by .the rod 17 and is moved by stops 23 and 24 onsaid rod, coming in contact with the -biidge 2,2. The stops are so set on the rod 1'! that the rod may make two thirds of its stroke before it moves the bridge 22.

At the switch is a suitable electric motor for throwing the switch, as for instance, by

reciprocating a motion plate 30, which has m it the usual slot anc moves the switch .ioints 31 by means of a suitable rod 32. hemotor has a fieldl33 and an" armature Q54 for operating a suitable connecting dhyice 55, for communicating the movement of'the anotor to themotion plate 30. The connecting, tl'evice 35 may bean electric clutch of i so ilthy suitable form, whereby, when current is passing through the field, the motion plate is moved, and when no current is passing throu "h the field, the motion plate is disconnecte from the motor and remains stationary. Means. are provided also whereby the movement of the motion plate makes and breaks suitable contacts for energizing the v indicator 10, and for making and breaking operating connections through the motor and safety circuits. In the present instance, a frame or bar 36 carries a bridge 37, two

strikers 38 and 39, and an insulated block 40.

44-. The strikers 38 and 39 act upon a frame 45, which carries the cores 16. and 47, of two solenoids 48 and 49. The frame 15 carries also a pole changer for the field 33 consistingofcontact-making blocks 50- and 51, whereby one circuit may be made by the block 50 through either one of two pairs of contact heads or springs 53; and another circuit may be made by the vock 51, through either one of 'two pairs of contact heads or springs 54-, 55.

The wiring or circuits are as follows: Preferably there are two main conductors 56, (which will be called the positive common) and 57 (which willbe called the negative common). Those two mains may be bus bars in the tower 1.- operating station; and current is supplied to them. The negative common is led out to the switch or trailic controlling device. The positive common is preferably wholly in the tower current. A

' positive common 56, the common operating wire (31 leads to oneside of both pairs of springs 13 and 1 1 From the other side of the air of springs 13 extends-the normal operating wire'-.G2, which leads to one side of :the motor mechanism at the switch and through the solenoid 49 and the contacts 43 to the negative common 57; and from the solenoid 4 8 and the contacts 44 to the neg-:1

five common 57; From the negative common 57 a safety circuit wire 64 passes to one side of the pairs of contacts 11 and 12. The other side of the pair of contacts 12- is connected with the wire ,62, and the other side of the contacts 11 is connected with the wire 63. .k branch 65 from. the wire 62.is connected through the contact heads or springs 53, and thence through the contact springs to 54, with the common wire 66 connected to one terminal of the armature 34. The wire 63 is connected by a branch 67 through the contact springs or heads 52, and through the contact springs or heads 55 with the common connection 66, above mentioned, to one pole of the armature 35. The other terminal of the armature passes through the connecting device or clutch and thence connects, by the wire 68 with the wire 64. The wires (35' and 67 a e connected to the two poles of the motor field 33.

In the normal position of the parts shown in the drawing, the circuit of thefield and armature of the motor is open intwo places, because the heads and 51 are midway between, and disconnected from, both their pairs of contacts; the solenoid 48 is ready for operation, to shift the frame 45, as soonas the bridge 21 changes from the contacts 13 to the contacts 14 ,the reverse indicating circuit is broken at the switch, but is made as soon as the switch has made its complete movement; the normal indicating circuit is broken at the operating station, so that both indicating circuits are broken; the reverse operating circuit is broken at'the contact 14 at the operating station, and is also connected through the contacts 11 andbridge 20 at the ,termmals'of said circuit with the 40 same pole (negative) of the source of electrical energy. The normal operating circuit is broken at thecontacts 43 at the switch.

If it is desired to reverse the switch, the lever 1 is moved toward'the left, forcing-the roller 8 down the slot 5, and permitting the moveme t of the lever until the stop face .at the right hand end of the slot 7 strikes said roller. At this point the lever canmove no farther, until the indicator operates, and lifts the roller away from said stop face. .In this position the operating circuit is set up from the positive common 56, wire 61, contacts 14, and bridge 21, reverse operating wires 63, solenoid 48, contacts 44 to the negative common 57. This attracts the solenoid core 46 and shifts the frame 45, so that the heads 50' and 51 complete the circuits through the contacts 52 and 54 and then the motor circuit is completed through thewire 67, contacts 52, field 33, wire 65, contacts 54, wire 66, armature 34, connecting device or clutch 35, wire 68 and wire 64, to the negative common 57. This actuates the motor and shifts the switch to its reverse position, thus shifting the striker 38, so that it hits the end of the frame contacts 13, energizes the solenoid 49, closes connect thecontacts 11;,

45 when the switch has been fully shifted, shifts the heads 50 and 51, breaks the circuits through the contacts 32 and 54, and brings the motor to rest. The same movement of the rod 36 shifts the bridge- 37, so thatat the end of the switch movement the contacts 42 are closed, and the reverse indicating circuit. is set up from the negative common 57 through the wire 60, contacts 15, and bridge 22, indicator magnet 10, wire 58 and positive common 56, thus energizing the indicator magnet, raising the rod 9 and roller 8 along the slot 4 and producing an automatic movement of the indicator cont-roller at the operating station by shifting the bridge 22 from the contacts 15 to the contacts 16, the circuit through which latter contacts has been broken at the switch at the contacts 41. The

same movement of the frame 3) broke the circuit through the solenoid 48 atthe con- 35 tacts 44, at the end of the switch movement, and made the contact through the contacts 43 for the solenoid 49, but the circuit through said last mentioned solenoid has been broken atthe contact 13, and is also through the contacts 12 and bridge 20 connected at both its terminals with the negative common 57, thus assuring security against a cross, of the normal operating wire, until the lever is shifted at the operating station. If now it is-desired to set the switch to normal, the lever is moved until the stop face at the left hand end of the slot 7 strikes the roller 8, shifts the oper y ating bridge 21 from the contacts 14 to the the contacts 53 and 55, and sends a current through the field 33 in the opposite direction to which said current flowed ,for setting the switch to reverse, and causes 'the rotation of the armature 34 in the opposite direction. The bridge 20 shifts from the contacts 12, but does not in the position just mentioned ;nor is the bridge 22 moved from thecontts 16. i

A's soon as the motion plate and switch 116 reach the normal position, the circuit through the solenoid 49 is broken-at the contacts43; and at the end of the switch movement the normal indicating'contacts .41 are connected by the movement of the bridge 37. 11c As soon as the switch and motion plate have reached their full normal position, the circuit is broken betweenv the contacts 43; and

striker 39 moves the frame 49 so that the heads 50 and 51 take their midway position 1212 above mentioned. The normal indicating circuit is made-from the negative common 57 through the bridge 37 and contacts 41,

v;ire 59, contacts 16, indicator magnet 10, [wire 58, to the positive common 56,}thus en- 12 'ergizmg said ,indlcator magnet, attracting the armature and causing the roller 8. to rise from the stop face last mentioned, and mto the slot 5,&ans ngan automatic movement of the iever 1 and its connected parts, shift- 13 v the contacts ll and 12. and the bridge 20 in possible for the indicatm: bridge 23 from the contacts 36 to the contacts 15 and completing the movementof the bridge 20 between the contacts 11, thus bringing all the'parts to the position in which they were originally found, and completing the cycle of movement of the parts in t-ting the switch to reverse and replacing it "lormal, giving indication of the completed ,a'lovemcnt of the switch to each position and. automatically shifting. contacts the switch has completed the movea'utoniatic movement occurs throug l e action of the indicator magnet. 16, which, however, may or'may not be used ior an indicating purpose, and may be znerc v an operating means for making and breaking circuits automatically, after and inn'ncdiatcly after the switch has completed a movement, i her to normal or to reverse. Safety circuits for the reverse operating and normal. operating wires are set up through "13113 lion with .t'hc \virc (ll, by connectingch terminal of the next operating circuit, to the manic pole. of the source of energy.

it. will be nolcd that when the motor is at rest, the operating currcnt is cut off from hoth si if the tield but is capable of being applied 0 the motor {for producing a moveof the motor in either direction and at any positional the switch, although it is imthe lever to be set; in a position not corresponding to the. position of the switch. This produces a. very flexible-mech- V H1, enabling the o gs arator to sot and reset the switch will, and without goingl through the complete cycle from the normal position of rest. 1, the reverse operating position 3, the reverse position of rest i the normal operating position 2, to the normal position of rest 1 again. The double break of" circuits at the motor operating switch or pole changer, prevents stray currents from dicating wires, a controller, means for reversing the connections of said motor for cutting off said motor and for making the indicating circuit from said source of energy comprising an electro-Jnagnotic device in the operating circuit, a pole changing switch moved by said. electro-magnetic device, means for cutting oil the source of electric energy after indication, and means for causing the breaking of the indicator circuit after said magnet has brokenthe operating circuit.

FRANK L. DODGSON.

Witnesses i I. B. BUTLER, D. G-nnnnn. 

